Reports that Sarah Palin has quit her bus tour halfway through and returned to Alaska have renewed debate as to the likelihood that she will declare herself a candidate for the 2012 presidential election.

According to Real Clear Politics, the former Alaska governor has taken an extended hiatus from her One Nation bus tour – less than a month after its launch on Memorial Day – to spend time with her family.

Reporter Scott Conroy writes: "Though Palin and her staff never announced a timeline for the remaining legs of her trip, aides had drafted preliminary itineraries that would have taken her through the Midwest and Southeast at some point this month. But those travel blueprints are now in limbo, RCP has learned, as Palin and her family have reverted to the friendly confines of summertime Alaska, where the skies are currently alight for over 19 hours a day and the Bristol Bay salmon fishing season is nearing its peak."

The tour was promoted on the SarahPAC website as "part of our new campaign to educate and energize Americans about our nation's founding principles". Palin had signalled that it would include stops in the key primary states of New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina – seen as a sign she was serious about a White House bid.

Writers on other media blogs and social networking sites mockingly compared the situation to Palin's decision to quit as governor before the end of her second term. Time reporter Claire Suddath tweeted: "Sarah Palin quit halfway through her bus tour? What does she think she's doing, governing Alaska?"

"As I said myself at the end of the east coast leg of the tour, the summer is long, and I'm looking forward to hitting the open road again. The coming weeks are tight because civic duty calls (like most everyone else, even former governors get called up for jury duty) and I look forward to doing my part just like every other Alaskan."